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Barreland
Barreland '(Barish: ''Mhràk n-Bar), officially the '''Kingdom of the Barish, is a small sovereign nation located on the Southern Continent, between Sednyana and Ulamtyr. It is a constitutional monarchy that has been ruled consistently by the Azerbarin dynasty for over two thousand years, making the oldest continually existing country in the world. It has a population of ten million and an area of 28,000 square miles, making it among the smallest nations of the Southern Continent. Geographically, it is located in the plains between the Rippler Cove and the Erethan Mountains, which separate it from Sednyana and Gemoriyn. Its capital city is Ötmund, although its largest city is Bodor, a port city located on the Rippler Cove and the ancient capital before the Qotian occupation of Barreland. It is a constitutional monarchy, its current king being Marthúk V Azerbarin, who is the oldest head of state in the world at eighty-one. The current Prime Minister is U Lar Pthápad. Most Barish people speak the Barish language, a Gemulamtyric language, and practice Centrism, which was introduced to Barreland in the fifteenth century. Etymology The name "Barreland" is an English translation of the native name of Mhràk n-Bar, sometimes called Bar-ràk. ''The native people of Barreland are known as the Barish (simply the ''Bar in their native tongue), and so "Barreland" was coined by Sednyana to mean "Land of the Barish." The origins of the name of the Barish people is unknown, although it has existed to refer to the people of present-day Barreland for thousands of years. History The Kingdom of the Barish dates back many centuries, and its origins are under debate. The Book of Bar-Útan, a collection of old Barish legends, states that the "Kings Azerbarin ruled the land of Bar for a thousand years, the last of a lineage of kings that had ruled from the distant mountains of Thulu to the coasts of Saak." While many dismiss this as pure legend, others believe that it points to a potential Azdaq origin of the Barish, as a remnant of the Third Azdaq Empire that is believed to have ruled in the region for several hundred years in the late first millenium (c. 500-750). Many proponents of the Azdaq origin of the Barish speculate that the archeological site of U Pat in southern Barreland may actually be the site of the first Azdaq capital of Samkath, and point to potential similarities between the Barish and Azdaq languages; Incean traveler Edyegova Barhe reported that the Azdaqs called the Zenian mountains "Thalktah," and a number of the words he transcribed were relatively similar to Barish words. Another theory is that the Barish are in fact older than the Azdaqs, and were a subject people of the Azdaq Empire, adopting some of their words. This is supported by evidence indicating that cities such as Bodor may be older than the Azdaq migrations to the region, although others argue that this could simply be evidence of an earlier Azdaq migration than was previously believed. Supporters of the earlier Barish origin theory believe that the Barish are one of the last remaining lines of the first inhabitants of the region, who included many Native Sednyanese and the Niedevans. At the start of the fifteenth century, Barreland was invaded by Sednyanese emperor Alexander III, who took Bodor and exiled king Riulli Azerbarin to Ulamtyr. A Barish civilian governor was instituted to rule over the Barish governorate. When Sednyana lost the Tariff War to Eqota, the Qotian military pushed the Sednyanese army back past Dhemarqua, through Capulus and into Barreland. Sednyanese generals found Riulli Azerbarin in exile in Ulamtyr and brought him back to Barreland in 1431 in order to help them claim the eastern part of Barreland. In the Treaty of Ötmund of 1432, Barreland was split between Qotian Barreland, which took Bodor and the Rippler Bay coast, and the restored Kingdom of the Barish, which took Ötmund as its capital and fell under the protection and influence of Sednyana. Riulli "the Restorer" became a Barish hero for never giving up the fight for his native land. He also signed the ''Ros Bara ''when he returned as king, which took away some of his absolute power and made him, in at least technicality, a constitutional monarch, although he still had significant power. After the Qotian defeat at the Plains of Aigkor to Toran in 1556, Eqota began drawing its military from its colonies, and the Barish king Marthúk I Azerbarin took the chance to invade and reunite Barreland in 1558. However, he chose to keep his capital at Ötmund, which had by this point grown in significance as a major cultural center in Barreland. Marthúk also threw off some of Barreland's obligations to Sednyana, although the two nations continued to have a friendly relationship, and Sednyana still pledged to aid Barreland in case of invasion. Over the next four hundred years, Barreland gradually tended more and more toward a parliamentary system of government, which was first established with the Ros Bara in 1432. When king Jarkasin IV signed an official constitution in 1936, the parliament had taken over as the principle branch of government, and, though the king retains some powers to himself to today, Barreland functions democratically. Barreland has generally espoused a pacifist foreign policy, and has not entered in any wars since being reunified in 1556. It joined the Southern Continental Community in 1968 and the International Alliance in 1995. Category:Countries Category:Southern Continent